Operating temperatures of turbine systems are continuously being increased to provide increased efficiency. As the operating temperatures are increased, components of the turbine systems are modified to increase their temperature capability.
One common method of modifying the turbine system components includes the machining of cooling microchannels on or near the surface of the component. During operation a cooling medium flows through the cooling microchannels, decreasing the temperature of the component. However, the cooling effect of the cooling microchannels is limited by the size of the cooling microchannels.
Additionally, the efficiency of the cooling microchannels is dependent upon the flow of the cooling medium through the cooling microchannels. As the size of the cooling microchannels is increased, an increased amount of the cooling medium is required. However, the turbine system includes a limited amount of the cooling medium. As such, the cooling effect of the cooling microchannels is determined by the amount of airflow available in the turbine system and the effectiveness as to the use of the available cooling air.
A cooled article and method of forming a cooled article that do not suffer from one or more of the above drawbacks would be desirable in the art.